I lived in Suzhou China for almost six
years. My time there was filled with incredible wonderful experiences and I
adored so many of the people I met. But I also know there’s no place like home.
(For me, that’s the USA).
When we first moved there (2006) Suzhou wasn’t
connected to Shanghai by the highway or train so it took about 2.5 hours to get
there. Suzhou had yet to be named an AAAA tourist destination which it was in
2009ish. AAAA means the government poured money into Suzhou for infrastructure,
growth, and beautification.
Though Suzhou was plenty incredible
before the government attention. After all, eighteen of the Emperors Gardeners
retired to Suzhou and designed their own gardens there which are for everyone
to enjoy. Chinese gardens are like stepping into a watercolor. The gardeners
understood the art of landscaping. Suzhou was nicknamed the Venice of the East
because of all the canals that run through the city.
Although as much as I can gush about
China, I will admit everything was different. Sometimes only a little different
and that allowed my expectations rise which gave me confidence in dealing with
something effectively—only to crash and burn trying to do the simplest things.
I got used to not ever getting quite what I wanted. Compromise and settling for
almost were my mantra.
Things I didn’t expect:
*When I saw the exhibit on Suzhou China
in SF’s Asian Museum (2004) and I said “I wish we lived there” I didn’t realize
I was casting a spell. We moved there in 2006.
*In 2006 I couldn’t buy meat in Suzhou
because it traveled from the port of Shanghai on unrefrigerated trucks, in
super-hot humid Suzhou temperatures and after our third bout of food poisoning
(NOT CAUSED BY MY COOKING) we ate in restaurants until the Japanese market came
to Suzhou allowing me or my love to prepare meals at home.
*Restaurants were delicious, reasonably
priced and they had access to refrigerated meat. (Above is the most talented chefs I've ever known.)
*Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Burger King,
Starbucks, and KFC were everywhere in China.
*No bills. You have to go pay for water,
gas, and electricity BEFORE you use it. Since we were the first expats at his company
no one thought to tell us this fact because that’s what they’d always known. No
idea the bills came after the fact in America. Well, I figured out you had to
prepay when the water just stopped working one day… during a shower.
*China was a completely cash system in
2006 (especially in Suzhou). No checks, bank cards or credit charges. I carried
stacks of cash especially for everything. (That thankfully changed over the six
years we lived there).
*LGBTQIA doesn’t exist. My friends
told me there is no gay in China. (Now statistically we know that’s impossible and
the fact that I knew several people who liked people of the same sex didn’t
change anyone’s mind.) The closet is extremely deep. It took my 5.5 years to
find the rainbow club and there was only one in Suzhou.
*I was nicknamed Ling Long Laura > I
lived at the end of Ling Long Street and my first name Laura.
*My massage therapist (Touching my shoulders) worked some magic
on my carpal tunnel scar tissue and stunned the surgeon. “I can see the scar
but there’s no hardness… what did you do?” LOL I would get massages 2-3x a week.
*I LOVE a good sale and I found I was
damned good at bargaining. (One of my local friends would have me buy his white
tea because I could get a better price in the tea market than he could.)
*Our driver (the fact that I had a driver
was beyond weird for me but we weren’t going to be good enough at reading or
speaking Chinese to safely drive) but our driver said to me “Laura you speak
like a man.” I nodded happy that the language was not barrier to him seeing me.
*Our driver became my best friend…
My Made in China series is based on my experiences in Asia. I'm very excited to share some of them with you.
Big hugs, Z.
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